1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for opening a sealant container, a sealant container, and a method of opening the sealant container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of sealant have already been in actual use for sealing or filling a variety of types of gap occurring in facilities or equipment of a building, and the gaps are filled with the sealant. A container filled with the sealant is formed into a cartridge of such a size suitable for attaching to an extruding device which can be operated at a work place. The cartridge is made of thick cardboard, synthetic resin, metal, or a composite material consisting of a combination thereof. Since the material to be filled in the container is reactive with moisture, oxygen, etc., in the air, a seal-like sealing section--which consists of a metal film or a composite material comprised of metal and a plastic film--must be stuck to or tensilely attached to an outlet or its vicinity.
FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a conventional sealant container. As illustrated in the drawing, the sealant container having a sealant K therein is comprised of a hollow container body D, a nozzle N screwed to the front end of the container body D, a bottom enclosure T provided at the rear end of the container body D so as to be slidable along the inner wall of the container body D, and a sealing section F which is made of a sealing metal film and is stuck to the inside of the container body D so as to face the nozzle N as well as to seal the sealant.
To extrude a sealant from the sealant container illustrated in FIG. 1, the nozzle N is removed, and the sealing section F is broken by a sharp tip of a wire. Then, the nozzle N is reattached to the container body D. The tip end of the nozzle N is cut along line B--B indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and the sealant container is then fitted into the sealant extruding device. The bottom enclosure T is forced towards the nozzle N to thereby extrude the sealant.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Hei-5-316003 (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei-7(1995)-145662) discloses a sealant container and an opener for use therewith as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this sealant container, a sealing section 103 consisting of a metal film is provided in a container body 120, and an opener 100 with a cutter 102 is provided in the vicinity of the sealing section 103. In the case of the sealant container illustrated in FIG. 2, a nozzle 140 is previously cut along line B--B in FIG. 2, and this sealant container is then fitted into a sealant extruding device. As a result of forcing the bottom enclosure 124 of the sealant container toward the nozzle 140 through use of the sealant extruding device, pressure is applied to a sealant K, causing the opener 100 to break the sealing section 103 to thereby extrude the sealant from the nozzle 140.
In the case of the conventional sealant container filled with a sealant, when the sealant container is used, it is necessary to remove a cap-shaped nozzle from the tip end of the sealant container as an additional operation under structural constraints. Further, after the sealing section labeled to or tensilely attached to the inside of the sealant container has been broken by a tool having a sharp front end, the cap-shaped nozzle must be reattached to the sealant container, thereby resulting in a lot of expense in effort. If the sealing section is broken through use of the tool, the tool may be stained with the sealant.
The sealant filled in the sealant container has the property of setting by reaction with the air. More specifically, the sealant sets within several seconds. Even in the case of a sealant which sets slowly, it will set in about ten minutes. For these reasons, it is impossible to maintain a plurality of sealant containers in a usable state while the sealing sections of the sealant containers are open. In short, it is necessary to open the sealant containers one at a time by breaking the sealing section immediately before using it. It may present an inconvenience to a worker depending on working conditions.
Further, the sealant container and the opener disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Hei-5-316003 incur the risk of breaking the sealing section by the opener when the sealant is filled in the sealant container.